Here is what I hope will be a definitive FAQ of the Blood War. Feel free to comment as you see fit, and please, ask any questions I missed, as I'm pretty much making these up as I go along. Feel free to debate and refute anything I say, as I'm going mainly off memory of quite a few Planescape books and other 2e source material for the Lower Planes.
What is the Blood War?
Simply put, it's a war of ideas. The Lawful Devils against the Chaotic Demons. The winner of the Blood War will decide the course of Evil throughout the planes. As with the Highlander mantra - There Can Be Only One.
How did the Blood War start, and how long has it been going on?
A lot of this depends on the creation of the Planes. If you're not going with a specific world's creation myth, but with a more general view, then the Blood War has been going on since about a thousand years since the creation of the multiverse, give or take a few centuries. And since the multiverse has been in existance for millions of years, on the grand scale, the time before the Blood War began is barely worth mentioning. Or, to put it another way, the Blood War is almost as old as Time itself.
Why are the Demons and Devils fighting? Why don't they team up?
This lies in the base natures of Good, Evil, Law and Chaos. Keep this in mind, a Good creature has something in common with all Good creatures. Same with an Evil creature. Same with a Lawful one, and a Chaotic one. A Lawful Good Celestial has as much in common with a Chaotic Good Celestial as he does with a Lawful Evil Devil. Both the Good creatures have Good in common, and both Lawful creatures have Law in common.
Which isn't to say they especially like each other.
When the first Lawful Good Celestials met the first Chaotic Good Celestials, they didn't fall into a brotherhood. They mistrusted each other, and with good reason. One side is far to rigid in it's ideals, while the other is far too disorderly and chaotic. But, being Good creatures, they could respect each other's right to exist, and so, they share an uneasy brotherhood of respect for each other.
When the first Devil met the first Demon, they too didn't trust one another. But while the Good creatures could respect the right to existance they each had, the Evil creatures could not. To creatures born of selfishness, all thoughts told them they were better than their kin. And so, very quickly, violence broke out. The Blood War quickly grew until it raged across all the lower planes. Thankfully, each side was more or less evenly matched.
So why didn't the Good forces form a unifide front and intervene immediatly, killing off all the demons and devils while they were divided?
First, who said they didn't try? But we'll get to that in a moment.
The Lawful Good creatures, though they loath evil, can still respect the Lawful Evil creatures. They're not all bad, just misguided. And the Chaotic Good creatures feel the same about the Chaotic Evil ones. The four primal forces are all equal. Good does not outweigh Law, just as Chaos does not outweigh Evil.
So, the Celestials are divided over which side to help. One side wants to help the Lawful Devils, while another wants to help the Chaotic Demons. Eventually, they came to the mutual understanding that All evil must be destroyed. So, they created a massive army, and marched on the Lower Planes.
True, the Celestial force did quite a bit of damage. But, the Demons and the Devils, while disagreeing on many, many things, can agree to this: Good Must Be Destroyed. So, they formed a temporary alliance to throw the meddlers out of the lower planes.
One week later, the Celestial army was decimated. Since then, no large Celestial force has entered the Blood War again. True, small strike groups do enter quite frequently, but nothing so large as to draw much attention.
As much as it pains them to admit it, the Evil side has much larger numbers than the Good side.
What can I, as a PC, do to help in the Blood War, stopping Evil for all time?
*Falls over laughing*... Hahahahaha.. really, it's not that.. hahahahahah.. *falls down again, rolling on the ground*.. HAHAHAHHAahhaha... There, I think I'm better.. Letsee, your question was.. HAHAHHAHA *falls down again*
Seriously, there's almost nil you can do. Zero. Jack Squat. The difference one person can make is next to non-existant. Actually, it's past that. Kill a thousand Devils, you haven't even stopped a scouting group. Kill a million Demons, you've barely scratched a skirmishing army. Lay waste to a billion Devils.. Well, now you're getting somewhere. Of course, you'll have billions more coming after you now, not to mention the billions of Demons, because if you can lay waste to that many of the other side, how long until you turn your eyes on them?
Seriously, there's nothing you can do. Take all those thoughts you've ever had about being the Great Hero of the Blood War, and forget them. They'll never happen.
What can I, as a DM, use the Blood War for, exactly?
The Demons and Devils are constantly looking for magical items, great and small. Though they take the Great ones long before the small ones. Perhaps there was once a legendary Fiend Hunting Guild in your world, and the creatures they once hunted have returned to take the weapons that struck them down.
If you play in Forgotten Realms, perhaps a young person capable of wielding Spellfire has been kidnapped by the Fiends (Pick a side) who wish to figure out how to access this power, to equip all their warriors with Spellfire.
Perhaps your players are a group of loons who just want to go and "Kill anything that moves" in the Lower Planes. A massive battle would make an entertaining background, especially when they find some battle plans, and realize that this battle, where the front stretches for tens of miles, is nothing more than two small groups, barely even called platoons by the Fiendish generals.
Who are the Big Players in the Blood War?
Well, obviously there's the Demons and the Devils, but that's a given. The Yugoloths (NE) play a very important role as mercenaries, selling themselves out to whichever side pays more. But, they are a fickle group, often turning on the side that hired them in the middle of battle. Still, each side is forced to hire the Yugoloths. Though they know the 'loths will betray them soon enough, to enter battle against an enemy who did hire them would be suicide.
On the Devil's side, the Dark Eight run the Blood War. Eight Pit Fiends of fantastic capabilities (IE Max Hit Points, High Levels, etc). The Lords of the Nine (Not including Asmodeus) pay little attention to the Blood War. In fact, they have little say in the matter; The Dark Eight are the ones in charge. Every few years or so, the Dark Eight meet in a citidel on the ninth layer and report directly to Asmodeus himself.
While the Dark Eight believe to be pleasing Asmodeus with their progress, the truth is, Asmodeus could care less. He has far greater plans than merely crushing the demons, thus paving the way to rule the entire Multiverse. The Blood War is, in his eyes, a great cosmic Distraction from his true goals.
So what are Asmodeus's True Goals?
The complete and utter destruction of the Multiverse, to be created again in his own image. But, that is outside of the scope of this article, and I will not continue to follow it. For now, at least. If there's an interest, I'll create a document on the Fiends themselves, which will explain Asmodeus's goals, where the Demons and Devils came from, and the Yugoloth's true goals in all this.
You mention the Yugoloth's quite a bit. Why is that?
The Yugoloths are seen by most as treacherous, betraying creatures, and while this is true, there is a method to their betrayals, at least in the Blood War. You see, the Yugoloths do not wish either side to win, at least not yet. While their betrayals seem to be at random, in truth they are carefully calculated to turn the tide of battle. Oh, they stay true during meaningless conflict, but when one side, be it Demon or Devil, is about to win a crucial victory, they will turn on their masters, thus snatching victory from the claws of whichever side would have won.
Make no mistake, their moves are very carefully calculated, and rare indeed is it that a General of the Blood War realized just how close he came to a worthwhile victory, for seldom is it that the Generals even realize which victories are the worthwhile ones.
So are the Demons/Devils are incredibly stupid to have not caught on yet?
No, the Yugoloths are just that good. Masters of lies and misdirection.
(Alright, I'm done for now. Ask away, and I'll answer)
And so, I sez to the guy, I sez "Look, you only gots five bullets left, and there's eight o' them. No ways you can do it." And alls he does is gimme this goofy grin. Last time I saw him alive.
And now, for some shameless self promotion
What is the Blood War?
Simply put, it's a war of ideas. The Lawful Devils against the Chaotic Demons. The winner of the Blood War will decide the course of Evil throughout the planes. As with the Highlander mantra - There Can Be Only One.
How did the Blood War start, and how long has it been going on?
A lot of this depends on the creation of the Planes. If you're not going with a specific world's creation myth, but with a more general view, then the Blood War has been going on since about a thousand years since the creation of the multiverse, give or take a few centuries. And since the multiverse has been in existance for millions of years, on the grand scale, the time before the Blood War began is barely worth mentioning. Or, to put it another way, the Blood War is almost as old as Time itself.
Why are the Demons and Devils fighting? Why don't they team up?
This lies in the base natures of Good, Evil, Law and Chaos. Keep this in mind, a Good creature has something in common with all Good creatures. Same with an Evil creature. Same with a Lawful one, and a Chaotic one. A Lawful Good Celestial has as much in common with a Chaotic Good Celestial as he does with a Lawful Evil Devil. Both the Good creatures have Good in common, and both Lawful creatures have Law in common.
Which isn't to say they especially like each other.
When the first Lawful Good Celestials met the first Chaotic Good Celestials, they didn't fall into a brotherhood. They mistrusted each other, and with good reason. One side is far to rigid in it's ideals, while the other is far too disorderly and chaotic. But, being Good creatures, they could respect each other's right to exist, and so, they share an uneasy brotherhood of respect for each other.
When the first Devil met the first Demon, they too didn't trust one another. But while the Good creatures could respect the right to existance they each had, the Evil creatures could not. To creatures born of selfishness, all thoughts told them they were better than their kin. And so, very quickly, violence broke out. The Blood War quickly grew until it raged across all the lower planes. Thankfully, each side was more or less evenly matched.
So why didn't the Good forces form a unifide front and intervene immediatly, killing off all the demons and devils while they were divided?
First, who said they didn't try? But we'll get to that in a moment.
The Lawful Good creatures, though they loath evil, can still respect the Lawful Evil creatures. They're not all bad, just misguided. And the Chaotic Good creatures feel the same about the Chaotic Evil ones. The four primal forces are all equal. Good does not outweigh Law, just as Chaos does not outweigh Evil.
So, the Celestials are divided over which side to help. One side wants to help the Lawful Devils, while another wants to help the Chaotic Demons. Eventually, they came to the mutual understanding that All evil must be destroyed. So, they created a massive army, and marched on the Lower Planes.
True, the Celestial force did quite a bit of damage. But, the Demons and the Devils, while disagreeing on many, many things, can agree to this: Good Must Be Destroyed. So, they formed a temporary alliance to throw the meddlers out of the lower planes.
One week later, the Celestial army was decimated. Since then, no large Celestial force has entered the Blood War again. True, small strike groups do enter quite frequently, but nothing so large as to draw much attention.
As much as it pains them to admit it, the Evil side has much larger numbers than the Good side.
What can I, as a PC, do to help in the Blood War, stopping Evil for all time?
*Falls over laughing*... Hahahahaha.. really, it's not that.. hahahahahah.. *falls down again, rolling on the ground*.. HAHAHAHHAahhaha... There, I think I'm better.. Letsee, your question was.. HAHAHHAHA *falls down again*
Seriously, there's almost nil you can do. Zero. Jack Squat. The difference one person can make is next to non-existant. Actually, it's past that. Kill a thousand Devils, you haven't even stopped a scouting group. Kill a million Demons, you've barely scratched a skirmishing army. Lay waste to a billion Devils.. Well, now you're getting somewhere. Of course, you'll have billions more coming after you now, not to mention the billions of Demons, because if you can lay waste to that many of the other side, how long until you turn your eyes on them?
Seriously, there's nothing you can do. Take all those thoughts you've ever had about being the Great Hero of the Blood War, and forget them. They'll never happen.
What can I, as a DM, use the Blood War for, exactly?
The Demons and Devils are constantly looking for magical items, great and small. Though they take the Great ones long before the small ones. Perhaps there was once a legendary Fiend Hunting Guild in your world, and the creatures they once hunted have returned to take the weapons that struck them down.
If you play in Forgotten Realms, perhaps a young person capable of wielding Spellfire has been kidnapped by the Fiends (Pick a side) who wish to figure out how to access this power, to equip all their warriors with Spellfire.
Perhaps your players are a group of loons who just want to go and "Kill anything that moves" in the Lower Planes. A massive battle would make an entertaining background, especially when they find some battle plans, and realize that this battle, where the front stretches for tens of miles, is nothing more than two small groups, barely even called platoons by the Fiendish generals.
Who are the Big Players in the Blood War?
Well, obviously there's the Demons and the Devils, but that's a given. The Yugoloths (NE) play a very important role as mercenaries, selling themselves out to whichever side pays more. But, they are a fickle group, often turning on the side that hired them in the middle of battle. Still, each side is forced to hire the Yugoloths. Though they know the 'loths will betray them soon enough, to enter battle against an enemy who did hire them would be suicide.
On the Devil's side, the Dark Eight run the Blood War. Eight Pit Fiends of fantastic capabilities (IE Max Hit Points, High Levels, etc). The Lords of the Nine (Not including Asmodeus) pay little attention to the Blood War. In fact, they have little say in the matter; The Dark Eight are the ones in charge. Every few years or so, the Dark Eight meet in a citidel on the ninth layer and report directly to Asmodeus himself.
While the Dark Eight believe to be pleasing Asmodeus with their progress, the truth is, Asmodeus could care less. He has far greater plans than merely crushing the demons, thus paving the way to rule the entire Multiverse. The Blood War is, in his eyes, a great cosmic Distraction from his true goals.
So what are Asmodeus's True Goals?
The complete and utter destruction of the Multiverse, to be created again in his own image. But, that is outside of the scope of this article, and I will not continue to follow it. For now, at least. If there's an interest, I'll create a document on the Fiends themselves, which will explain Asmodeus's goals, where the Demons and Devils came from, and the Yugoloth's true goals in all this.
You mention the Yugoloth's quite a bit. Why is that?
The Yugoloths are seen by most as treacherous, betraying creatures, and while this is true, there is a method to their betrayals, at least in the Blood War. You see, the Yugoloths do not wish either side to win, at least not yet. While their betrayals seem to be at random, in truth they are carefully calculated to turn the tide of battle. Oh, they stay true during meaningless conflict, but when one side, be it Demon or Devil, is about to win a crucial victory, they will turn on their masters, thus snatching victory from the claws of whichever side would have won.
Make no mistake, their moves are very carefully calculated, and rare indeed is it that a General of the Blood War realized just how close he came to a worthwhile victory, for seldom is it that the Generals even realize which victories are the worthwhile ones.
So are the Demons/Devils are incredibly stupid to have not caught on yet?
No, the Yugoloths are just that good. Masters of lies and misdirection.
(Alright, I'm done for now. Ask away, and I'll answer)
And so, I sez to the guy, I sez "Look, you only gots five bullets left, and there's eight o' them. No ways you can do it." And alls he does is gimme this goofy grin. Last time I saw him alive.
And now, for some shameless self promotion
